Typically, phonograph albums and video disks are stored in their accompanying jacket assembly which consists of a paper or plastic sleeve into which the album or disk is placed and a cardboard jacket into which the sleeve and album or disk are placed. These jacket assemblies have inherent problems in that (1) the stored recording disk can be scratched while placing the disk in the close-fitting paper or plastic sleeve, (2) the jackets are difficult to organize because they are so thin that the side labeling is difficult to read, (3) the jacket material deteriorates over time, (4) the recording disk contained in a jacket is vulnerable to breakage due to careless handling, as the jacket material is not of supporting strength, and (5) recording disks stored in the cardboard jackets have the potential for warping because they are not supported by a rigid support.
Compact disks are also commonly stored in their original containers which consists of rigid plastic boxes which open between the wide front and back panels. These containers have been found to be difficult to open and difficult to use. Examples of other previous attempts to store and protect recording disks from scratching and dust are described in the following patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,369 issued Oct. 27, 1987 to Philosophe discloses a storage container including a drawer-like receptacle and a pair of opposed, separable shell-like cover members for releasably supporting the drawer-like receptacle therewithin. The storage container may be stacked one upon the other in overlying fashion. The storage containers have means for attaching two storage containers together so as to prevent relative displacement of the storage containers stacked one upon the other in the four and aft and side-to-side direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,957 issued Sep. 22, 1987 to Ackeret discloses a container for storing flat recording media, such as compact disks, which has a housing and a plurality of media holders which can be moved between a storage position and an ejected position. The holders each receive a single disk and have a normally closed disk insertion slot which opens when the holder is moved to the ejected position. One embodiment of the Ackeret patent includes individual holders housed inside a housing which store disks vertically and which are pivoted about a pin in one corner of the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,101 issued Aug. 18, 1987 to Barker, Sr. et al. discloses a protector/holder for a computer, video or phonograph disk which is in the form of a housing having spaced top and bottom wall surfaces, two opposed side walls and an enclosed bottom edge forming a three sided closed enclosure with an open top end. An upwardly extending and outwardly tapering V-shaped slot is formed interiorly within the housing at the bottom end of the housing to securely receive the bottom edge therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,531 issued Dec. 9, 1986 to Clemens discloses a recording disk enclosure having semi-rigid top and bottom portions with adjoining sides forming an enclosed space therebetween. An aperture sized to pass a recording disk therethrough is disposed through one side of the enclosure. A closure strip is disposed to cover the aperture in the closed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,483 issued Jan. 31, 1984 to Narita et al. discloses a disk accommodating case comprising a jacket having an opening portion at one end thereof, and a member for closing the opening portion of the jacket.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,694 issued Apr. 18, 1978 to Lainez et al. discloses a container for video-disks which includes a support for the disk in a protective envelope which is opened along one edge to allow the support to be inserted laterally into the envelope. In one embodiment disclosed in the patent, a detachable rear edging may be added to the support. The edging may, for example, be formed by a thin strip which is provided with a longitudinal slot which grips the edge of the support. The rear edging enables the support, which is intended for manual transfer, to be adapted to semi-automatic or automatic transfer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,639 issued Mar. 9, 1976 to Cournoyer et al. discloses a guard device for storing a disk package comprising a jacket containing a flexible magnetic disk, the device being substantially rigid and having a front surface, a back surface, sides and a bottom. The device also preferably includes ribs to protect a pocket for the disk package as well as restraining ribs located at the bottom of the pocket.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,813 issued Jan. 27, 1987 discloses a cleaning apparatus consisting of a case formed to the same size and shape as those of the hard-cased floppy disks, a cleaning sheet formed to the same shape as that of the floppy disks magnetic disk rotatably installed in the case, and a cleaning liquid supplier provided to the case, the cleaning supplier being adapted to supply the cleaning liquid to the cleaning sheet.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a protective disk case which protects recording disks from the outside elements and potential damage during handling, which is easy to open and easy to close, and which is designed so that the recorded portion of the disk does not contact the case when placed therein. It is another object of the invention to provide a protective disk storage case which is easy to label and, therefore, organize, does not deteriorate, and keeps the stored recording disk from warping.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a protective disk storage assembly which allows two or more of the storage cases to be stacked together.